Felidae: Difference between revisions

The story of ''Felidae'' centers on a male cat named Francis as he and his owner, Gustav (nicknamed "Gus" by Francis), move into a new home of unknown location. Upon investigating his new home, Francis not only meets the sarcastic Manx stray named Bluebeard, but he also encounters the body of a murdered cat (as Bluebeard points out, it's the fourth murder that occurred in the past few days). It's not long until Francis begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the murdered cats, a strange cult known as the "Claudandus Sect", and the meaning behind the enigma known as "Felidae."

 

 

Now available on [[YouTube]] [http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C70ACDF5DC2784A8&search_query=felidae here] (for now). Subtitled version [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjCt_YGSGGY here.]

*** Francis is shown as being [[The Smart Guy|extremely smart]], even among other such [[Amplified Animal Aptitude|smart cats]], so careful reasoning probably got him to where the data was stored ( {{spoiler|Pascal}} apparently wasn't savvy enough to bury it ''too'' deeply), and from there [[The Password Is Always Swordfish|he just made an educated guess as to what the password could be.]] It's not so much a case of the learning time being shortened as it is Francis [[Fridge Brilliance|simply being able to use what little technical knowledge he had efficiently.]] The whole issue is much clearer in the book, as Pascal actually spends some time teaching Francis how the computer is used, and {{spoiler|the data for the "Felidae" project was stored close to the catalog of neighborhood cats.}}

*** Also, it's heavily implied both in the book and in the movie that Pascal ''wanted'' Francis to find those files {{spoiler|because he WANTS Francis [[Passing the Torch|to be his successor]].}}

* [[Arc Words]]: The title.

* [[A Worldwide Punomenon]]: '''Cat'''acombs.

Jesaja: [[Tear Jerker|Many... oh yes, many...]] }}

* [[Cruel and Unusual Death]]: {{spoiler|Felicity, with her neck bitten ''and'' her head torn off. Solitaire, with her neck bitten ''and'' her womb opened, spilling out the amniotic fluid, sack and fetuses of the pregnant cat, and Pascal AKA Claudandus, with his body opened, eviscerating him.}}

* [[Cult]]: The Claudandus Sect.

* [[Dark Messiah]]: {{spoiler|Pascal/Claudandus}}.

* [[Detective Animal]]: Francis.

* [[Disabled Love Interest]]: Felicty [[Fan Preferred Couple|(If you're shipping her with Francis)]]

** {{spoiler|Claudandus's}} plans to create a race of "genetically perfect" cats while murdering those he considers to be inferior. [[A Nazi By Any Other Name|Sound familiar?]]

** In this movie, Egyptian cats are essentially a stand-in for "Aryans".

* [[Dubbing]]: The film was dubbed in English as well, on the spot, which was obviously done to help it reach a wider audience.

* [[Evolutionary Levels]]: Claudandus seems to think he's helping to create a "superior" breed of cats.

* [[Fallen Hero]]: {{spoiler|Claudandus}} is a debatable case.

** In the book, {{spoiler|Claudandus}} also gets his throat torn out instead.

** {{spoiler|Felicity's}} death is a bit more tragic in the book, because {{spoiler|we see Felicity's owner crying over her dead body}}.

* [[Infant Immortality]]: Averted to hell and back. Dams and their kittens die all over the place.

** In the original novel, Francis has a nightmare where Deep Purple pulls a kitten out of his torn, bleeding throat, throws it against the wall, pulls out another kitten which bursts like a red paint balloon, and proceeds to splatter more kittens from his throat. Try going to sleep after reading that fun scene.

* [[Insufferable Genius]]: Francis. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] [[Cats Are Mean|since he is a cat]], [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold|and he does have redeeming qualities.]]

* [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]]: Bluebeard.

* [[Narm]]: In the English dub, most of the characters sound cartoony (yes, it's an animated movie, but... it's a murder mystery with cats! And sex!)

* [[A Nazi By Any Other Name]]: {{spoiler|Claudandus, since he tries to create a master race of cats and is willing to kill for it.}}

* [[Nietzsche Wannabe]]: {{spoiler|Claudandus. Just read his rant about how [[Humans Are Bastards]]}}.

** And while certainly acting as a [[Nietzsche Wannabe]] up to his final confrontation with Francis, the meaning behind his [[Final Speech]] is open for debate - was it a [[Heel Realization]]?

** {{spoiler|Claudandus, until you find out not only he's alive, but also the [[Big Bad]].}}

** {{spoiler|Crazy Hugo (aka the Black Knight) and his mastiff}} from the second book. Thanks to {{spoiler|Ambrosius}}, many characters believe they might still be alive.

* [[Redundancy Department of Redundancy]]: The first book does this often, probably due to translation.

* [[Secret Keeper]] : {{spoiler|Joker. Who is well aware about the truth behind Preterius and his experiments, that Claudandus is alive, responsible for the murders, the reasons behind 'em and his other identity. He even accepts dying at the hands of Claudandus to keep the secret safe when Francis starts closing in on him.}}

* [[Shout Out]]: When Francis decides to relieve his stress by hunting some rats, he casually mentions their plot to [[Pinky and The Brain|take over the world.]]

** Gregor Mendel and his theories of genetics are a big part of the plot, to the point he's almost a [[Posthumous Character]]. ([[Nightmare Fuel|And he's absolutely terrifying in Francis' dreams.]])

{{quote| '''Francis''': [[Not So Different|You're the one who's really a human being!]] You think just like they do! You act just like they do! You only want to repeat all the misery they have brought to the world. You're dreaming not of real change but of establishing a new dictatorship paid for with hundreds and thousands of dead from your own ranks. and tell me what kind of a role you've thought up for the other animals species in your oh-so-very-wonderful never-never land? Come on, answer me!}}

* [[Sinister Minister]]: Joker, who is one of the leaders of the "Claudandus Sect". He's well-aware of what's really going on and {{spoiler|he allows Claudandus to kill him to prevent the secret from being revealed.}}

* [[Token Evil Teammate]]: Kong. He almost ''kills'' Francis at one point (but see [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]]).

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: {{spoiler|"'No! No! No!' [Pascal] bellowed, his eyes burning with impotent rage and hate. 'There are no good people! They're all the same! Don't you understand that? Animals are good human beings, and human beings are bad animals!'"}}

* [[We Hardly Knew Ye]]: {{spoiler|Felicity, a great character who was killed off after a few minutes of screentime.}}

* [[You Are Number Six]]: Eight {{spoiler|the lynx}}, from the second book.